TLC Quote of the Week: James Thurber

“All human beings should try to learn before they die what they are running from, and to, and why.”

-James Thurber

TLC Tuesday Testimonial: Michael Knott, Green Street Advisors

“Peter Leets’ influence on the trajectory of my career is indisputable. A months-long coaching engagement in ’08 began with self-assessment and 360-degree reviews from those around me. Peter and his organization were able to wrap the responses and feedback anonymously into valuable insight into how I was perceived – both the good and not-so-good. Even though I was perceived as a rising star in my organization, there were some important challenges that I faced to continue progressing in the necessary manner. From there, Peter and I began to have 1-on-1 meetings to discuss the issues that needed improvement and mutually explore my thinking on various challenges. It’s clear to me in hindsight that I wouldn’t have done such a “deep dive” or introspective look on my own because it was uncomfortable. Peter challenged me to see things as they were, not as I thought I saw them, and to think about development issues that were easily brushed off by a busy executive. Our meetings and conversations were not always easy, but they were instrumental in helping me progress with challenges that I faced on the road to reaching my potential within my organization. At the end of the engagement, I crafted a written personal strategic plan – with Peter’s assistance and guidance – that was presented to the most senior leaders in my firm. This roadmap outlined what I wanted to do, why, and how I would continue to progress. Through both my own hard work and determination, along with Peter’s support and advice during the engagement, I made progress on improvement goals laid out in that plan, and a year-and-a-half later, I was promoted to Managing Director of my firm (i.e., partner). This terrific achievement is a strong testament to the guidance that Peter provided, which helped me to clear some important “hurdles” along the journey to that destination.”

Michael Knott
Senior Analyst
Green Street Advisors

TLC Joke of the Week: Clever Cajun

A Cajun named, Jean Paul, moved to Texas and bought a donkey from an old farmer named Ben for $100. The farmer agreed to deliver the donkey the next day.

The next day, Ben drove up and said, “Sorry, but I have some bad news. The donkey died.”

“Well, then, just give me the money back,” said Jean Paul.

“Can’t do that. I went and spent it already,” replied Ben.

“OK, then. Just unload the donkey,” said Jean Paul.

“What ya going to do with him?” asked Ben.

“I’m going to raffle him off,” said Jean Paul.

“You can’t raffle off a dead donkey!” uttered Ben.

“Sure can. Watch me. I just won’t tell that he’s dead,” said Jean Paul.

A month later Ben met up with the Cajun and asked, “What happened with that dead donkey?”

“I raffled him off, I did. I sold 500-hunderd tickets at two dollars apiece and made a profit of $898,” said Jean Paul.

“Didn’t anyone complain?” inquired Ben.

“Just the guy who won. So I gave him his two dollars back,” said Jean Paul.

TLC Friday Feature: Executive Career Transition Services

To learn more about The Leets Consortium’s Executive Career Transition Services, click here to see our brochure!

Best wishes for a wonderful weekend!

“Who Really Makes the Big Decisions in Your Company?”

“Research conducted during the past decade shows that the roles—and even the roster—of senior management teams can be far from self-evident, even to those who serve on them. In their book Senior Leadership Teams, Harvard’s J. Richard Hackman, Ruth Wageman, and others identified four types of top management teams, with varying levels of influence. The smallest and most critical is the decision-making team; the others have a coordinating, consultative, or informational role—or a combination of the four. The authors make a compelling case for clarifying the roles of various teams at the senior management level—as they’ve found that many serve a multitude of ambiguous purposes.”

To read more, request a copy of the article here.

TLC Quote of the Week: Walt Whitman

“These are the days that must happen to you.”

-Walt Whitman